Bryson DeChambeau’s results since joining LIV Golf early last season have not met his lofty standards, but the Crushers GC captain has the opportunity to change that Sunday at LIV Golf Andalucía.

Thanks to a brilliant bogey-free, 8-under 63 that ended with an eagle on his final hole, DeChambeau will take a one-shot lead into the final round at Valderrama as he seeks his first LIV Golf title and 11th worldwide win of his professional career. DeChambeau came within one shot of tying the course record Saturday while shooting his lowest round in LIV Golf.

“It was a fantastic round,” DeChambeau said. “I had a lot of great things happen to me, but I also struck it really like I’ve been wanting to, and whenever I got nervous, I was able to stripe it down the middle or hit a shot that was in the right position on the golf course. I was pretty excited about the way I played today.”

The bogey-free round is the only one recorded through the first two days on the challenging layout at Valderrama. At 9 under through two rounds, DeChambeau leads Individual Champion points leader Talor Gooch by one stroke and reigning PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka by three. Gooch and Koepka each have won two LIV Golf tournaments and will be in the final group with DeChambeau, who is playing in the lead group for the first time in a LIV Golf final round.

“They’re playing incredible,” DeChambeau said. “You’ve got a major champion and then a guy that’s won two LIV events in a row. They’re going to be biting at the heels, and I’ve just got to be steadfast and in my own little zone and get after it.”

DeChambeau’s Crushers and Gooch’s RangeGoats GC are also tied on the team leaderboard at 10 under, with Torque GC two strokes back in third. The Crushers and RangeGoats each have one team victory this season, while Torque claimed its second win of the season at LIV Golf’s previous event in DC.

Gooch reeled off three consecutive birdies early in his round and assumed the lead in the afternoon after a string of five birdies in six holes. But a late bogey and DeChambeau’s eagle flipped the individual leaderboard late in the day.

Gooch, whose previous wins this season came in Adelaide and Singapore, will be looking for his third victory outside the U.S. this season.

“It’s been so cool to see Bryson trending and how well he’s been playing here the last few months,” Gooch said. “We were halfway through the round and of course we’re paired with him tomorrow, and we’re like, oh, now I kind of don’t want him to play well tomorrow.

“We played the final round together in Singapore, me and Brooks did, and he’s one of the greatest of our generation. It’s going to be another great challenge and experience to go and try to beat him tomorrow.”

Koepka opened his round with a bogey on the 16th hole but bounced back with eagle at the par-5 17th and played bogey-free golf for the remainder of his round.

“Made bogey there at the first but then kind of rebounded and built off that,” said the Smash GC captain. “It could have been a lot lower. I played really well.”

DeChambeau’s best LIV Golf result is a tie for fifth earlier this season in Tulsa, a reflection of his upward trend in recent months that also includes a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship won by Koepka.

“Moving in the right direction, and I’ve got a lot of golf years left, a lot of major championships, a lot of LIV events,” DeChambeau said. “It’s only hopefully up and up.”

The post Bryson grabs round two lead; Crushers, Rangegoats share team lead appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

1. How worthy of a champion was Charles Howell III of Crushers GC? Consider this: He was 4 under on the par-3 holes, 5 under on the par-4 holes and 7 under on the par-5 holes. No other player in the 48-man field was under par for all three categories. Also, consider this: On a tight, jungle-lined course, Howell suffered just two holes over par – a double bogey in the first round and a bogey in the second round. Not surprising, he led the field in bogey avoidance.
2. The 8-under 63 by Howell was the lowest final-round score shot by any of the first eight individual champions in LIV Golf history. The previous final-round lows were the 65s shot by Branden Grace in Portland and Dustin Johnson in Boston.
3. Speaking of Grace, the Stinger GC star started off the 2023 season much like he did a year ago at the inaugural LIV Golf tournament in London, with a third-place podium finish. Howell, Grace and second-place finisher Peter Uihlein were the only three players to shoot in the 60s in every round.
4. Pat Perez of 4Aces GC had his best performance as a LIV Golf member, finishing seventh in points. After two rounds at even par, Perez produced a final-round 5-under 66 to vault into the top 10. It was the third lowest round of the day. Perez also contributed counting scores in each round for the first time. Much like Howell, Perez likely felt a comfort level at El Camaleon. Of the 48 players in the field, only Howell has made more pro starts (14) at Mayakoba than Perez (11).
5. Brendan Steele (HyFlyers GC) gets medalist honors among the six players making their LIV Golf debuts. Steele finished at 6 under after his sizzling 65 in the final round, tying Cameron Smith for sixth place on the leaderboard. Other newcomers included: Sebastian Munoz (Torque GC) at 5 under, Mito Pereira (Torque GC) at 3 under, Dean Burmester (Stinger GC) at 1 under, Thomas Pieters (RangeGoats GC) at 2 over and Danny Lee (Iron Heads GC) at 3 over. Of the newbies’ collective 18 rounds, 16 counted for their respective teams.
6. With Munoz, Pereira and captain Joaquin Niemann each finishing inside the top 16 in points, Torque gained its first podium finish after failing to do so with varying lineups last season. The Spanish-speaking team didn’t have a great start – 5 over after the first round – but rallied with six counting scores in the 60s for the final two days.
7. Just two teams out of the 12 had the same three contributors in each round. Iron Heads GC relied exclusively on Scott Vincent, captain Kevin Na and Lee, while Smash GC did the same with Matthew Wolff, Jason Kokrak and captain Brooks Koepka.
8. Dustin Johnson’s 7-over 78 was certainly unexpected. In his first 23 regular-season rounds as a LIV Golfer, DJ had just one round above par – a 1-over 73 in the second round last year in Chicago. He did not finish outside the top 24 in points in any start last year, and in fact he had just one non-top 10 result, a 16th at Bangkok. So to see him end up 37th in Mayakoba is shocking. The easiest explanations? He finally encountered a course that did not suit his game … or maybe he was just due for an off-day.
9. Hitting greens in regulation is the path to success at El Camaleon. The three podium teams were also the teams that collectively had the highest GIR percentage, with the Crushers leading in that category at 69%, 4Aces at 67% and Torque at 65%. Meanwhile, seven of the top 10 individual finishers in points also finished in the top 10 in GIR. Howell was first in that category, hitting 43 of 54 greens.
10. Carlos Ortiz holds the LIV Golf record of three-putt avoidance with 184 consecutive holes. It’s a mark that remains active. He hasn’t suffered a three-putt since the second round last year in Chicago, when he bogeyed the par-4 12th hole. Fireballs GC teammate Eugenio Chacarra is second on the list (overall and active) with 179 consecutive holes without a three-putt. Johnson saw his streak of 164 holes without a three-putt end on the 18th hole in the first round at Mayakoba.
11. DJ failing to contribute on Sunday and Patrick Reed shooting three rounds over par would seem, on the surface, to be too much for the defending champion 4Aces GC to overcome. And yet they still managed a second-place finish thanks to Uihlein and Perez playing well and counting in each round. Give the 4Aces credit for a podium finish despite not running on all cylinders.
12. Just three players recorded lower final rounds than Phil Mickelson’s 4-under 67. Lefty’s final-round scoring average in his last 5 LIV regular-season starts going back to last season is 68.4. His HyFlyers GC had the second best performance on Sunday with a collective 11 under. The winning Crushers were 12 under on the final day.

The post Looking Back at LIV Golf Mayakoba: 12 things you might not know appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.